Catchy, emotive, powerful indie pop in this title track from the forthcoming EP by the LA-based San Francisco Bay-formed band about the contradictory nature of the titular make-up as a way to hide from, but also play with gender identity. As singer Ikaika Gunderson puts it:“The single's about how, from the age of around 11-12 years old, I would use mascara to hide their trans-masc identity: initially wearing loads of it, then later ‘fucking it up as a revolutionary act’.”
The EP is out on 22 March on Moshi Moshi.
Gunderson adds: “In 6th grade I started both crying less and wearing makeup more. A part of me knew that there was a correlation. I started wearing mascara so that I would stop rubbing my sensitive watery eyes. I found that this was a funny metaphor for the fact that I used hyper femininity to hide my trans-masc identity; both from myself and others. Mascara acted as a wall between me and my sensitive nature, blocking a stereotypically feminine part of me with make-up, another stereotypically feminine thing.”
“Though I wrote this song while I was out as non-binary, I had not let go of this deeply ingrained idea that pretty meant worth. Fucking up your mascara is a kind of revolutionary act when society expects women/feminine presenting people to be “pretty” all the time. For me, it was one of the first parts of accepting my gender. I was performing femininity so well for so long while simultaneously getting more and more disgusted with myself. Removing what society expected of me and seeing this distorted fucked up image in the mirror was both terrifying and exhilarating. Seeing myself with raccoon eyes and black tears feels better than seeing myself with “nice” makeup.”
Listen out for perfect timing of Mia the dog barking on the track below, and to explore more by Flamango Bay, see also the other embedded links.
I get made up just to see how pretty I get when I cry
Under eyes are where the soul is
My poor worn out chewed up Invisalign
I lie and I lie just to hide from where the truth is
I’m happy all the time
Turn up the overdrive
There’s nothing hotter than a bitch who knows they're out of line
Make me a work of art
I’ll tell you when to start
I’m in control of my face
Everywhere you go you bring a storm you’re never warm
Your home is like a cave and your body can’t be saved and
Mascara’s only thing that covers what you see
I can’t cry and look at you, you can cry and look at me
If I just go to every possible extreme
Than I can’t find the truth of who I wanna be
If I just bite the bullet, sleep til I’m dead
Then I’ll smear red paint, bite my lips until they’re red
I’m happy all the time
Turn up the overdrive
There’s nothing hotter than a bitch who knows they're out of time
Make me a work of art
I’ll tell you when to start
I’m in control of my … (dog barks!)
Everywhere you go you bring a storm you’re never warm
Your home is like a cave and your body can’t be saved and
Mascara’s only thing that covers what you see
I can’t cry and look at you, you can cry and look at me
I wanna see those tears when you look my direction
Every look in the mirror is a look in my fears and
Everywhere you go you bring a storm you’re never warm
Your home is like a cave and your body can’t be saved and
Mascara’s only thing that covers what you see
I can’t cry and look at you, you can cry and look at me
New to comment? It is quick and easy. You just need to login to Disqus once. All is explained in About/FAQs ...
Feel free to recommend more new songs and albums and comment below. You can also use the contact page, or find more on social media: Song Bar Twitter, Song Bar Facebook. Song Bar YouTube, and Song Bar Instagram. Please subscribe, follow and share.
Song Bar is non-profit and is simply about sharing great music. We don’t do clickbait or advertisements. Please make any donation to help keep the Bar running: